World doping chiefs confirm 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for heart drug before Tokyo Games, accepted tests tainted
- Anti-doping body gave athletes permission to compete after accepting Chinese findings that tests had been contaminated
- Heart drug was same as one that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva took before Beijing Winter Olympics
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) confirmed reports on Saturday that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned drug ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but cleared them to compete after accepting the country’s findings it was because of substance contamination.
Multiple media reports said the swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), which is found in heart medication, months before the Covid-delayed Games began in the Japanese capital in July 2021.
TMZ is the same drug that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for before the Beijing Winter Olympics, she has since been banned for four years and her teammates stripped of their gold medals.
China’s anti-doping agency (Chinada), and the Chinese Swimming Association did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Wada said it was notified in June 2021 of Chinada’s decision to accept that the swimmers returned adverse analytical findings (AAF) after inadvertently being exposed to the drug through contamination at a training camp.
The global anti-doping body, which has the authority to appeal the rulings of national doping agencies, said it reviewed the decision and consulted scientific experts and external legal counsel to test the contamination theory presented by Chinada.
